Thursday's Child: Success Stories

Children featured on Thursday's Child are closer to finding families. Photo Credit: Leeann Kossey

AMARILLO, Texas (KVII) —

In the video above, you'll see six success stories about area children who are hoping to find families of their own.

From beginning to end, the licensing process to foster or adopt a child takes about three months to complete.

The first step is to attend a Child Protective Services (CPS) informational meeting at 7 p.m. on the second or last Tuesday of each month, at Amarillo’s CPS office at 3521 SW 15th Street.

The second step involves six weeks of classroom training, followed by paperwork, background checks, and home inspections.

Once social workers believe a potential family can handle the task of caring for children, they'll write an in-depth report about the family’s history.

The cost for the process is minimal. Home inspections run about $100; finger-printing runs $40 for each family member over the age of 14; and CPS pays up to $1200 in legal fees for the adoption of a child whose biological parents no longer have parental rights. Social workers say often times the legal fees do not exceed the amount of money the State is willing to pay.